London attack: Six killed and at least 48 wounded in ‘terrorist incident’

Police are investigating the attack

Published:08:44Sunday 04 June 2017

Share this article

Six people have been killed and at least 48 people wounded in a terrorist attack in London last night (Saturday, June 3).

Police say the attack began at around 10pm when a white van was driven into pedestrians on London Bridge. Police say it then continued on to the nearby Borough Market area where three men got out and began attacking people with blades.

Shortly after arriving on the scene, armed police shot and killed three male suspects who appeared to be wearing bomb vests but which were later found to be hoaxes.

In the early hours of this morning (Sunday), Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the force is treating the attack as a terrorist incident.

He said: “Since late yesterday evening, the Metropolitan Police Service has been responding to incidents in the London Bridge and Borough Market areas of south London. We are treating this as a terrorist incident and a full investigation is already underway, led by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

“You will understand that our knowledge of the incident is still growing but what we understand at the present time is:

“At 10.08pm yesterday evening we began to receive reports that a vehicle had struck pedestrians on London Bridge.

“The vehicle continued to drive from London Bridge to Borough Market.

“The suspects then left the vehicle and a number of people were stabbed, including an on-duty British Transport Police officer who was responding to the incident at London Bridge. He received serious but not life-threatening injuries. His family has been informed.

“Armed officers responded very quickly and bravely, confronting three male suspects who were shot and killed in Borough Market. The suspects had been confronted and shot by the police within eight minutes of the first call. The suspects were wearing what looked like explosive vests but these were later established to be hoaxes.

“The ongoing operation is led by the Met, working closely with British Transport Police, City of London Police, the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade.

“At this stage, we believe that six people have died in addition to the three attackers shot dead by police. And at least 20 casualties have been taken to six hospitals across London, but numbers are still rising.

“We are reviewing and planning to strengthen our policing stance across London over the forthcoming days, and there will be additional police and officers deployed across the capital.

“I would like to ask the public to remain vigilant and let us know if they see anything suspicious that causes them concern and dial 999 immediately.”

Meanwhile London Ambulance service confirms it took 48 people to hospitals for medical treatment, although more people are thought to have been treated at the scene.

The ambulance service’s assistant director of operations Peter Rhodes said: “Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the incident at London Bridge and their friends and family.

“We took 48 patients to five hospitals across London and treated a number of others at the scene for minor injuries. Police have confirmed that sadly, six people also died at the scene.

“We were called to the incident at 10.07pm (Saturday 3 June), with the first ambulance crew arriving within six minutes.

“We sent over 80 of our medics to the scene including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, specialist response teams and an advanced trauma team from London’s Air Ambulance.

“We declared a major incident and worked closely with other members of the emergency services at the scene. Our priority was to assess patients and ensure that they were treated and taken to hospital as soon as possible.”